Gordon our Rhoscolyn goat enjoying the sun

Some wonderful bird pictures from Jo …

Top: Great Tit with a Blue Tit; bottom, Blue Tit and Robin. See the sidebar for Jo’s woodpecker picture..

And here is a starling, apparently turning on a tap!

One in five mammal species in Britain “is at risk of extinction”

Almost one in five mammal species living in Britain is at risk of extinction in the near future – with red squirrels, wildcats and grey long-eared bats particularly vulnerable, the most comprehensive review ever undertaken of the country’s 58 non-human terrestrial mammal species reveals. A threatening “cocktail” of habitat loss, climate change, pesticides, invasive species and busy roads is wiping out the creatures in increasing numbers.

Also particularly hard hit have been hedgehogs and water voles, losing an estimated two thirds of their populations in the past two decades, according to a joint report for the Mammal Society and Naural England.

There are, however, some species that are bucking the trend (see sidebar).

A Jay photographed by Gerrit Forrester

This month’s rainbow is from Leslie in Ibiza

Following on from Ted Jones’ three wise cormorants on the front page …

... just two real cormorants on a rock off Rhoscolyn Head - photographd by Shirley Reekie

Why don’t woodpeckers get headaches?

Picture by Jo Jones.

The answer is that unlike a human brain, the bird’s brain sits firmly in its skull so that it doesnt bounce back and forth when its beak is delivering staccato blows to a tree.

Animals bucking the trend

Whilst many species are in decline, some are bucking the trend and actually increasing in numbers. Badgers, for example, which are legally protected. Their numbers are recovering from past persecution. This is Danny a baby badger that was rescued and reared by Jinny Wearne before being freed again into the wild.
Other species that are growing in number are otters, polecats, wild boar and roe deer.